Retail bargains out there for savvy consumers
As high street stores slash their prices, those Brits still in the black can make a killing, experts say
Though millions may be struggling to cope with the fallout of the global credit crunch, for those with a grip on their personal finances there has arguably never been a better time to hit the high street.
For, while British lenders push their mortgage, personal loan or credit card rates ever upwards in an effort to insulate themselves from further market turbulence, the nation's retailers are cutting prices and offering consumers significant discounts so as to tempt them to part with their cash.
While it could be argued that, in the general scheme of things, this means that prices are still going up, this nevertheless stands in comparison to a figure of 3.8 per cent in August, representing the first general decline in the index for more than six months.
Furthermore, given that this figure takes into account the massive price hikes seen in areas such as food, in some areas Brits are being bombarded with bargains, not least when it comes to buying goods usually associated with good times and high levels of consumer optimism, such as electronic devices and cars.
What's more, as the BRC's head of media and campaigns, Richard Dodd notes, this cost-cutting trend is also helping to push the price of a weekly grocery shop steadily downwards, which is good news for those households with many mouths to feed and a reluctance to rely on cheap and unhealthy food.
"Retailers have been in a fiercely competitive environment," he explained.
"There have been an enormous number of promotions and special offers all year round, to try and encourage cash-strapped customers into their particular store rather than anybody else.
"We've seen a rash of discounting focused on key items and also on fresh fruit and vegetables, which is contributing to bringing down food prices."
Supporting this, research recently carried out by Verdict on behalf of the BBC found that, while food prices rose by nine per cent over the nine months to the end of September, the months of August and September saw a drop of 0.6 per cent, with this trend most notably seen in the cost of fruit, vegetables, fish and meat.
Despite this obvious good news, consumers are far from out of the woods yet and it would be incredibly unwise to begin to loosen the purse strings until a full economic recovery is underway.
As recent events have shown, the global economy is far from predictable at the moment, meaning that a high street credit-card funded blow out could come back to bite the less savvy consumer.
Far better to sit tight and use any extra cash generated by such price falls to shore up savings or current accounts or pay off any existing debts.
